(APN) CLARKSTON — City of Clarkston Councilman Dean Moore recently announced plans to introduce legislation to make possession of under one ounce of cannabis (“marijuana”) a traffic offense with a fine of five dollars. Last year, seventy people in Clarkston went to jail for marijuana possession. The estimated population of Clarkston in 2014 was 7,846. “Our strategy is […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Deja Vu: State Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford) is again holding another medical cannabis bill hostage in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee that she chairs. Several years ago she held HB 855 hostage, and now its HB 722. http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2014/03/17/medical-cannabis-bill-approved-by-georgia-senate-committee-heads-to-full-senate/ However, the unsinkable State Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon), who authored HB 722, has come […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Brian Westlake, a high school teacher who ran in 2010 for the Democratic nomination for Georgia School Superintendent, is challenging State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) for the House District 82 seat. Westlake, who is an advocate for public education, takes issue with State Rep. Oliver’s support of Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed Opportunity School District (OSD), […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Monday, February 22, 2016, the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee eliminated in-state cultivation of medical cannabis from HB 722. The revised HB 722 still adds several medical conditions to Georgia’s existing medical cannabis immunity laws; and adds one cannabinoid, Tetrahydrocannabinol Acid (THCA). HB 722 has been gutted from 24 pages down to only seven. […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Saturday, December 05, 2015, the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow hosted a program at the Little 5 Points Community Center called, “Georgia Gulag: It’s Up to Us to Stop It.” In Georgia, there are eighty prisons, 22 youth detention facilities, five immigrant detention facilities, and 193 jails, plus probation centers. “Mass incarceration […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The Wednesday, October 28, 2015 meeting of the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis heard testimony from law enforcement officials, the Georgia Pharmacy Association, and a medical cannabis security specialist. The high point of the day was when Rick Allen, Director of the Georgia Drug and Narcotic Agency, mentioned the State of Connecticut has rescheduled cannabis from […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Tuesday, October 20, 2015, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) held a Minority Medical Cannabis Commission Hearing to gather information and recommendations from their community. Minorities testified on how consistently the door has been shut to their participation in the legislative process related to medical cannabis in Georgia. Not one Black doctor is on […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On Wednesday, September 30, 2015, the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis latest hearing erupted in debate between two Commission Members on whether Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the chemical components of cannabis, is harmful or beneficial. Dr. Yong Park, a neurologist with Georgia Regents University, and Dr. Cynthia Wetmore, Hematologist/Oncologist, with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, disagreed with […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis–the purpose of which is to study the feasibility of in-state medical cannabis cultivation in Georgia–held its second meeting, August 26, 2015 in the Coverdell building next to the State Capitol in downtown Atlanta. Three more meetings are planned before the end of this year. As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive […]
Read moreThis article first appeared on the Inter-Press Service website at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/u-s-marijuana-lobby-sets-sights-on-full-legalisation/ ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan 30 2013 (IPS) – Since the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington fully legalised marijuana via ballot initiatives in the November 2012 elections, efforts to medicalise, decriminalise, or legalise marijuana at the state level are sprouting up like so many hemp stalks on a sunny day. Eighteen […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — A coalition of organizations that deal with marijuana policy reform have come together to push the Legislature to address the issue of medical marijuana in the upcoming 2013 Legislative Session. The new coalition, the Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform & Education Project (Georgia CARE Project), held a press conference at the State Capitol on Monday, December 17, […]
Read moreThis article first appeared on the Inter-Press Service website at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/11/victories-for-marijuana-legalisation-same-sex-marriage-in-u-s-polls/ ATLANTA, Georgia, Nov 7 2012 (IPS) – In addition to the victories of the Democratic Party in retaining the presidency and the U.S. Senate, and of the Republican Party in retaining the U.S. House, there were major issue-related victories in Tuesday’s election whose common threads are personal liberty and […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — As part of our coverage of the upcoming July 31, 2012, Partisan Primary and Non-partisan General Election, Atlanta Progressive News requested interviews with incumbent US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and Michael Johnson, the two candidates for the Democratic nomination for Georgia’s 5th US Congressional District. Johnson participated in an interview; his positions will be summarized again […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — William Phelps and State Rep. Margaret Kaiser (D-Atlanta) have provided their responses to the Atlanta Progressive News Candidate Questionnaire for State House District 59. Charter schools, as noted below, emerged as a major issue of contention between the candidates. Phelps criticized Rep. Kaiser for co-sponsoring HR 1162, calling it a “grave mistake.” Kaiser did not directly answer […]
Read moreThis article first appeared on the Inter-Press Service website at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/06/u-s-marijuana-reform-may-have-hit-tipping-point/ ATLANTA, Georgia, Jun 26 2012 (IPS) – Over the last several years, many U.S. states have quietly adopted laws decriminalising the possession of marijuana or legalising medical marijuana. Now, a flurry of activity over the last few weeks appears to signal that – perhaps like same-sex marriage – marijuana […]
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